Virginia's lawmakers have had an extremely busy month pissing all over the rights of women in the state. And today, when lawmakers made their way into or out of the capitol, they were greeted by over 1,000 protesters— mostly women— linking arms and standing silently in protest.

The Virginia House was scheduled to vote today on a bill that would require women seeking abortions to undergo a medically unnecessary transvaginal ultrasound, a measure that is both blatantly rapey and massively unpopular— according to a new poll, 55% of Virginians are opposed to the measure.

The Capitol ground rules say that we cannot assemble, hold signs, chant, yell or protest. We think silence in the face of this struggle and their unconstitutional rules presents the strongest response to their assault on women. Please come out and stand up for our rights and for the rights of all women in VA to choose the best reproductive route for themselves. These people are used to signs, yelling, chanting etc. It is not new. They are not used to silently being stared at and having to look us in the eye. It gives us the power.